When you feel angry, don't take it out on someone else, but don't suppress it either. Anger is a beautiful thing that can transform you in a positive direction.
One Zen student came to Bankei and said:
- Master, I have an uncontrollable character. How can I recover from this?
- Yeah! “Come on, show me your character,” said Bankei, “its manifestation is charming!”
“I can’t do this right now,” said the student. “I can’t show it to you now.”
“Okay, then,” Bankei smiled subtly. - Deliver it to me when you can.
“But I won’t be able to bring it to you as soon as this happens,” the student protested. “It always happens unexpectedly, and you can be sure that I will lose it by the time I get to you.”
“Then it cannot be an integral part of your nature.” If it is, then you can show it to me at any time. When you were born, you didn't have this. So it had to come to you from outside. “I advise you, every time it enters you, hit yourself with a stick until your character cannot stand it and runs away,” Bankei said, smiling.
The next time you feel irritated, go out and run around the house seven times, and then sit on a bench under a tree and observe where your anger is located. There is no need to suppress it, or control it, or throw it out on anyone. Just become more aware. The state of anger is a beautiful phenomenon, it is like electricity in the clouds. If you become aware in the state of anger, the anger will go away.
Try this! In the midst of it, if you are beside yourself, if you look like a madman, suddenly become aware and you will feel some change: the device is inside, you will feel a click. Something has changed, your inner being has relaxed.
The outer will take time to relax, but the inner being is already relaxed, the interaction is already broken...
You no longer identify with anger. The body needs a little time to cool down, but deep down in you, in the center, everything is calm. And when you are calm, you can enjoy the whole world. When you get excited, you lose yourself, you get confused. How can you be happy in such a state?
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru